After completing her main line duties,
Tornado arrived at Leeming Bar, Wensleydale Railway later than planned, due to some last minute trips before Christmas, so there was just time to drop the fire and conduct a quick inspection before locking her into the shed until the New Year. In the first two months of this year, we will be conducting some routine maintenance and annual certification activities, starting with a boiler washout and inspection. Our locomotive staff and volunteers have made a start cleaning the areas we will be working on and some components have already been removed and sent for calibration and overhaul. We have already identified some minor boiler repairs and will be attending to these at the beginning of February. The boiler is also due to have internal inspections and a steam test to renew our boiler certificate. Whilst this work is ongoing at Leeming Bar, we are likely to send the tender off site for wheel turning having picked up some annoying wheel flats during December.
Our faithful support coach is due for some TLC too: we will be giving the kitchen and all the compartments a good clean, as well as servicing elements of the heating, water and electrical systems ready for next year. During the winter, the air and vacuum brake systems are also being inspected and overhauled as part of the routine scheduled maintenance. Once the work is complete, we look forward to a few days of running service trains at the Wensleydale Railway before the start of our 2020 tours programme. Photos by Richard Pearson (except where noted).
The 'quick release' cab is removed - Rob Morland